The field of this disclosure relates generally to mixers and, more particularly, to mixers for gas turbine engine exhaust systems.
Many known gas turbine engines include a fan system, a core system, and an exhaust system arranged in axial flow communication with one another. The fan system provides a flow of air to the core system (a “core flow”) and a flow of air to a bypass duct surrounding the core system (a “bypass flow”). Upon exiting the core system and the bypass duct, respectively, the core flow and the bypass flow are directed into the exhaust system for discharge into the ambient.
At least some known gas turbine engines utilize a mixer to better mix the core flow with the bypass flow in the exhaust system in order to facilitate improving overall engine performance. However, pressure losses within the exhaust system have been known to be associated with the use of at least some mixers, and these pressure losses can diminish the performance benefits associated with mixing. It would be useful, therefore, to have a mixer that facilitates mixing core and bypass flows within an exhaust system of a gas turbine engine while minimizing the pressure losses associated with such mixing.